Brian Caauwe

Site Recycle Bin - issues and recommendations

The Microsoft IT Site Delete Capture tool located on the CodePlex is a highly recommended tool for SharePoint Administrators by the IT Pro community, however we have noticed a few caveats with the default installation, and would also like to clarify some common misunderstandings.

When you install the set of features for the site recycle bin all existing webs in your farm will NOT have the necessary features activated to run the site recycle bin code, so you would need to activate the feature called MSITSiteFeature manually on all web.  You can activate this feature by either making it visible through the SharePoint UI, by changing the hidden property on the feature to false (only downfall of this is it then allows any user with full control to deactivate the feature).  Another method of activating this feature would be to add it through code, here is an example on how to add the necessary feature to a single web using PowerShell.

Along with the wanting to make sure your existing webs have the needed feature enabled, you also need to know that the MSITSiteFeature is only stapled to specific site definitions by default.  If you want to staple the needed feature to ALL site definitions go to the MSITSiteFeatureStapling feature directory (C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\web server extensions\12\TEMPLATE\FEATURES\MSITSiteFeatureStapling) and edit the FeatureStapling.xml file, which is located in the FeatureStapling folder, and add the following line to add the global site definition right above the STS#0 line.

<FeatureSiteTemplateAssociation Id="78B94E15-23CE-43f9-8036-BABD847497D1" TemplateName="GLOBAL" />

Once this is added ALL new sites created from a site definition will have the necessary features activated however if you are creating sites based off of existing site templates (.stp files) these will not inherently activate the needed features to enable the site recycle bin.  The reason for this is when you create a site based off a site template, feature stapling does NOT apply, even though the site is based off a site definition that feature stapling is enabled on.  The only way to have your new sites, that are created based off of site templates, to have the site recycle bin enabled is to recreate the .stp file based off a site that you manually activate the MSITSiteFeature feature.

If others have different suggestions on how to get existing sites enabled through a script OR other ways to get sites created based off of site templates (.stp files) to automatically activate the needed feature, please add comments.

["Brian"]

Fabulous 40 Application Templates - Board of Directors

The Board of Directors template is a part of the site admin templates provided directly from Microsoft here.  This template is based off of a site template (.stp file) which can be installed by a SharePoint administrator by either uploading it into the Site Templates gallery or installing it globally using stsadm.  The Board of Directors template was designed for the Business Management / Finance business area and the official description is described below:

The Board of Directors application template provides a single location for an external group of members to store and locate common documents such as quarterly reviews, shareholder meeting notes and annual strategy documents. The template also tracks tasks, issues and calendar items so board members have a single location to view information relevant to them.*

Lists:

Announcements – Normal announcements list

Board Events – A calendar list with two workflows attached and a custom DispForm.aspx page with multiple Data View web parts

Contact List – Normal contacts list

Discussion – Items are auto-created in here when a new board event is created

Links – Normal links list

Tasks – Has a meeting lookup field, also a Tasks view that points to the DispForm of a blank meeting

Document Libraries:

Board Information – Normal document library

Meeting Documents – Has a meeting lookup field, also a Meeting Documents view that points to the DispForm of a blank meeting

Meeting Minutes – Has a meeting lookup field, also a Meeting Minutes view that is points to the DispForm of a blank meeting, also a minutes document is auto-created when a board event item is created.

Workflows:

There are two SharePoint Designer workflows attached to the Board Events list when you create a site based off of this template

Create Meeting Minutes Workflow

The Create Meeting Minutes workflow is set to automatically start when an item is created in the Board Events list.  It creates a new Word document with the name of the board event along with assigning the meeting lookup field, on the new document, back to the board event that started this workflow.

Create Discussion Workflow

The Create Discussion workflow is set to automatically start when an item is created in the Board Events list.  It creates a new discussion thread with the name of the board event along with assigning the meeting lookup field, on the new discussion thread, back to the board event that started this workflow.

Board Events Display Form:

The Board Events display form contains multiple Data View web parts that display all Meeting Minutes, Meeting Documents, Discussions and Tasks associated with that meeting.  The Data Views’ that reference document libraries have an extra link that brings you to the document libraries All Items view.  The Discussion and Tasks Data Views’ have a custom link to create a new list item that is automatically tagged with that  board event.

Home Page:

The default home page for the site contains List View web parts for the Announcements, Board Events, Links and Tasks lists.  The Tasks list web part is set to the My Tasks view.

The quick launch, or current navigation, has nothing customized and only contains selected lists and libraries.

 Installation recommendations:

If you are looking to create a site based off of the Board of Directors site template some of the custom views, that take you to a blank meeting, in the Meeting Documents library, Meeting Minutes library and Tasks list will easily confuse the target audience for this template. 

There are also previous versions of the two custom workflows attached to the Board Events list, it would be good housekeeping to remove them. 

The My Tasks web  part on the home page also shows all of your tasks whether they are complete or not, you may want to only show the tasks that are no complete, or create a good procedure to clean out the tasks after a meeting has completed. 

I would also change the view for the Links web part on the home page, it contains the type column that that isn’t needed.

*Description reference URL here

["Brian"]

Fabulous 40 Application Templates - Absence and Vacation Schedule

The Absence and Vacation Schedule template is a part of the server admin templates provided directly from Microsoft here.  This template is based off of a site definition which needs to be installed by a SharePoint server administrator using stsadm.  The Absence and Vacation Schedule template was designed for the Human Resources business area and the official description is described below:

The Absence Request and Vacation Schedule Management application template helps employees manage requests for out of office days. Team members post days they will be unavailable and can use the system to assign their responsibilities to others during those days. The application template helps team leaders manage requests for vacation and provides dashboards showing which users are signed up for a set of responsibilities.*

Features:

By using a site definition when you create a site based off of this template it automatically activates the custom features associated with this template.  The custom features that are automatically activated are:

-          Absence and Vacation Schedule List Instances

-          Absence and Vacation Schedule Modules

-          Absence Type

-          Absences

-          Responsibility Adoption

The Absence Type, Absences and Responsibility Adoption features create the schema for those lists where the Absence and Vacation Schedule List Instances create the actual lists when the site is created.  The most interesting feature is the Absence and Vacation Schedule Modules which contains a couple Data View web parts AND SharePoint Designer Workflows.

Custom Lists:

Absence Type – This list defines the types of absences an employee can enter, along with if that type requires approval.

Absences – This list defines absences that employees request and contains a default calendar view.

Responsibility Adoption – This list defines responsibilities that employees setup for themselves and who is the contact for the responsibility when they are out of the office.

Custom Pages:

Default Page

The default home page for the site contains a Data View web part called Pending Approval which displays all requests that are in pending status along with a direct link to Approve or Reject the item.  This is a nice touch since all of the views on the Absences list does not contain the Title (with or without context menus) to update or approve a request, however an individual has the ability to approve their own request.

They have also modified the quick launch, or current navigation, to include some common actions for this site like submitting a request for a new absence and add a new responsibility adoption.

Absences Display Form

The Absences display form also contains a Data View web part for Responsibility Adoption for the user that the absence is tied to.  The Data View web part also contains a direct link to add a Responsibility Adoption item.  When adding a Responsibility Adoption item, you are adding the responsibilities and contact for your account NOT for the users’ absence item you came from.

Workflows:

There are two SharePoint Designer workflows attached to the Absences list when you create a site based off of this template

Setup Workflow

The Setup workflow is set to automatically start when an item is created in the Absences list and looks to see if the Absence Type requires approval.  If the Absence Type requires approval then it sets the Status to Pending Approval, otherwise it sets the Status to Approved.

ApproveReject Workflow

The ApproveReject workflow is set to be manually started only.  Once this workflow is kicked off it sets the Status to the value defined from the approver in the initiation form along with any comments the approver may have assigned.

Installation recommendations:

If you are looking to create a site based off of this site definition it would be wise to modify the Absences list to require content approval and attach an approval workflow to make it so that only the individuals that can approve / reject requests to the list have that option.

*Description reference URL here

["Brian"]

Fabulous 40 Application Templates

You have probably heard of the “Fabulous 40” site templates when looking for easy ways to deliver a SharePoint environment to your end users.  In the coming months I plan to post a series on all of these application templates to provide you with a better understanding of what they are.  I will try to provide some visual examples along with a standard set of information about each template (i.e. based on a site template/site definition, what content is already included, workflow functionality, installation suggestions, etc). 

If you want to get a head start on getting more information on the Fab 40 here are a few URL’s, on TechNet, that can give you a little more information on the application templates:

-          Descriptions of Application Templates

-          Application Templates grouped by Business Area

-          Application Template Datasheets

As I start this series of posts, please provide feedback on the type of information you would like to see more of / less of in these posts.

["Brian"]